Chinese zodiac · Five elements
What is my Chinese zodiac element? Start with the Moon
Your element follows the year, and the Chinese year starts at a new moon, not on January 1. We computed every Lunar New Year from 1900 to 2100, so January and February birthdays finally come out right.
NASA (photographed by an astronaut aboard the International Space Station)
At a glance
Your element follows the last digit of your Chinese year (0 or 1: Metal; 2 or 3: Water; 4 or 5: Wood; 6 or 7: Fire; 8 or 9: Earth), and that year starts at Lunar New Year. 2026 is the Fire Horse from February 17.
- 2026 (Bing Wu)
- Yang Fire HorseFeb 17, 2026 to Feb 5, 2027
- 2027 (Ding Wei)
- Yin Fire GoatFeb 6, 2027 to Jan 25, 2028
- Born Jan 1 to Feb 16, 2026
- Yin Wood Snakethe 2025 year, not 2026
- Lunar New Year range
- January 21 to February 20every year 1900 to 2100, computed
- Lichun 2026
- February 4, 04:02 China timethe Four Pillars year boundary
Find your Western big three tooSun, Moon and rising from your birth time, free.
The January problem
Why your birth year alone can give you the wrong element
Try this today
- Put your exact birth date into the calculator below, not just the year.
- If you were born between January 21 and February 20, check a sibling or friend born in the same months of another year. The answer can flip.
- Screenshot the result for the group chat. Someone in it is wrong about their animal.
Chinese vs Western zodiac, side by sideThe year of the Goat 2027
Here is the moment it usually goes wrong. You type 2013 into a chart, it says Water Snake, you post it, and then your aunt points out you were born on February 3, a week before Lunar New Year (February 10 that year), so you are, in fact, a Water Dragon. Mildly embarrassing. Very common.
The Chinese zodiac runs on the Chinese calendar, and that calendar's year begins at Lunar New Year, the day of a new moon in late January or February. Across every year from 1900 to 2100, it never comes earlier than January 21 (1966, 2061, 2099) or later than February 20 (1920, 1985).
So the rule is simple. Born January 1 to 20? You always belong to the year before. Born from January 21 to February 20? It depends on the year, and you need the exact date. Lunar New Year landed in January in 71 of the 201 years we computed, and in February in the other 130.
Take 2026. Lunar New Year is Tuesday, February 17, 2026. Anyone born from January 1 to February 16, 2026, is a Yin Wood Snake, finishing off the 2025 year. From February 17 on, it is the Yang Fire Horse. That is 47 days of 2026 babies who are not Horses at all.
The sky behind it
| If you were born | You are | Not |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 1 to Feb 9, 2024 | Yin Water Rabbit | Wood Dragon |
| Jan 1 to Jan 28, 2025 | Yang Wood Dragon | Wood Snake |
| Jan 1 to Feb 16, 2026 | Yin Wood Snake | Fire Horse |
| Jan 1 to Feb 5, 2027 | Yang Fire Horse | Fire Goat |
| Jan 1 to Jan 25, 2028 | Yin Fire Goat | Earth Monkey |
How we computed it
Lunar New Year is astronomy, not a fixed date
Try this today
- Switch the calculator to "A whole year" and step to 2033 and 2034. Watch the New Year jump.
- Look up the new moon nearest your birthday. If it fell in late January or February, it may have been someone's New Year's Day.
Most calculators copy a table. We built ours from the sky, because the Chinese calendar is set by the Sun and the Moon and the rules are public.
A Chinese month starts on the day of a new moon, using the calendar date in China. The month that contains the December solstice is always month 11. Lunar New Year is the first day of month 1, which usually means the second new moon after month 11 begins.
Usually. About seven times in 19 years the calendar adds a leap month to keep pace with the seasons, and the rule for choosing it is precise: in a year with 13 months, the first month that contains no principal solar term (the Sun crossing a multiple of 30°) repeats the month before it. When that leap month falls between the solstice and New Year, the shortcut breaks. In our 1900 to 2100 run that happens in 2034: the shortcut says January 20, 2034, but the real date is February 19, 2034, because leap 11th month before New Year pushes it a month later. That makes the 2033 Water Ox year unusually long, from January 31, 2033 to February 18, 2034.
The day itself depends on the clock in China. A new moon at 18:42 UTC on February 19, 1985 was already February 20 in Beijing, which is why Lunar New Year 1985 is February 20, 1985. We use UTC+8 from 1929 and Beijing local mean time before that, the same convention the published tables use.
The sky behind it
New moons, solstices and principal terms from the JPL DE442 ephemeris (skyfield, geocentric apparent longitude, true ecliptic and equinox of date), converted to China time. Checked against the Hong Kong Observatory tables for 1920, 1966, 1985 and 2057, and the Wikipedia date table for 2026 to 2037: all match. Longest year in the run: 1925 (385 days). Shortest: 1965 (353 days). 2026 has 354 days; 2027 has 354.
The five elements
Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water: where your element comes from
Try this today
- Find your element, then find the element that feeds it. Ask yourself what does that for you in real life.
- Compare elements with a partner or best friend. Feeding pairs and checking pairs make for a fun conversation, not a verdict.
Every Chinese year has a two-part name. The second part is one of the 12 earthly branches, the animals you know. The first part is one of the 10 heavenly stems, and each stem belongs to one of the five phases, or elements: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water.
The stems come in pairs, one yang and one yin, so each element covers two years in a row. That is why the last digit of the Chinese year is all you need: 0 or 1: Metal; 2 or 3: Water; 4 or 5: Wood; 6 or 7: Fire; 8 or 9: Earth. Even digits are yang, odd digits are yin. 2026 is yang Fire (Bing), 2027 is yin Fire (Ding).
Ten stems and twelve branches step forward together, so the same pairing only comes back when both cycles line up: every 60 years. That is the sexagenary cycle, used in China to count days since the Shang dynasty oracle bones and to count years for about two thousand years.
In Chinese thought the five phases are less like substances and more like stages of change. They feed each other in a loop (Wood feeds Fire, Fire makes Earth, Earth bears Metal, Metal carries Water, Water nourishes Wood) and check each other across it (Wood parts Earth, Earth dams Water, Water quenches Fire, Fire melts Metal, Metal cuts Wood). People read their element as a temperament to reflect on, the same way you might read your Western Sun sign. It is a mirror, not a forecast.
The sky behind it
| Last digit | Heavenly stem | Element | Yin or yang | Example years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Geng | Metal | Yang | Metal Rat 2020, Metal Dog 2030 |
| 1 | Xin | Metal | Yin | Metal Ox 2021, Metal Pig 2031 |
| 2 | Ren | Water | Yang | Water Tiger 2022, Water Rat 2032 |
| 3 | Gui | Water | Yin | Water Rabbit 2023, Water Ox 2033 |
| 4 | Jia | Wood | Yang | Wood Dragon 2024, Wood Tiger 2034 |
| 5 | Yi | Wood | Yin | Wood Snake 2025, Wood Rabbit 2035 |
| 6 | Bing | Fire | Yang | Fire Horse 2026, Fire Dragon 2036 |
| 7 | Ding | Fire | Yin | Fire Goat 2027, Fire Snake 2037 |
| 8 | Wu | Earth | Yang | Earth Monkey 2028, Earth Horse 2038 |
| 9 | Ji | Earth | Yin | Earth Rooster 2029, Earth Goat 2039 |
Two boundaries
Lunar New Year or Lichun? Why February babies get two answers
Try this today
- Born on Lichun day itself? The calculator asks for your birth time and time zone, because the switch happens at an exact minute.
- Write both answers down. Plenty of people happily identify with one and keep the other as a fun footnote.
If you were born in early February and two websites disagree about your animal, neither may be broken. They are using different boundaries.
The festival year, the one with the dumplings and the red envelopes, starts at Lunar New Year. But Chinese calendars also track 24 solar terms set purely by the Sun, and the first of them, Lichun ("start of spring"), is the moment the Sun reaches 315° of ecliptic longitude. In our 1900 to 2100 run it always falls on February 3 or February 4 or February 5 in China. Four Pillars of Destiny (BaZi), the Chinese birth-chart system, starts the year at Lichun, to the minute.
The two boundaries disagree for anyone born between them. In 2026, Lichun came at 04:02 China time on February 4 and Lunar New Year on February 17, so babies born in that gap are Fire Horses in BaZi and Wood Snakes on the festival calendar. In 2027, Lichun is February 4 at 09:46 and New Year February 6, so 2 days of births get a split answer.
Across our 201 years, Lichun comes first in 103 of them and Lunar New Year first in most of the rest; they share a date in 1905, 1924, 1943, 1992, 2038, 2087. For everyday zodiac questions (what is my animal, what is my element) Lunar New Year is the usual answer. If you are working with a BaZi chart, use Lichun. Our calculator shows both and tells you when they differ.
The sky behind it
Lichun is the instant the Sun's apparent ecliptic longitude reaches 315°, computed from DE442. 2026: 2026-02-03 20:02 UTC. 2027: 2027-02-04 01:46 UTC.
2026 and 2027
Two Fire years in a row: the Fire Horse and the Fire Goat
Try this today
- Born in early 2026 or 2027? Put the exact date in the calculator; Feb 17 and Feb 6 are the lines.
- Read up on the Fire Horse superstition before you believe anything a relative says about it.
Fire last had the calendar from February 8, 2016 to February 15, 2018, the Fire Monkey and Fire Rooster. Now it is back.
2026 is the Yang Fire Horse, Bing Wu, from February 17, 2026 to February 5, 2027. It is a double-Fire year: the stem is Fire, and the Horse carries Fire as its own element too. Only 12 of the sixty pairings do that, which is part of why the Fire Horse has such a reputation. The last Fire Horse year began on January 21, 1966; the next will begin on February 14, 2086.
2027 is the Yin Fire Goat, Ding Wei, from February 6, 2027 to January 25, 2028. The Goat is an Earth animal, so the year pairs yin Fire with Earth underneath, the feeding direction in the five-phase cycle.
Fire years between 1950 and 2040, by Chinese year: 1956, 1957, 1966, 1967, 1976, 1977, 1986, 1987, 1996, 1997, 2006, 2007, 2016, 2017, 2026, 2027, 2036, 2037. If you were born in one of those, remember to check the date: a January 1996 baby is still the year before.
The calculator
Find your Chinese zodiac element
Put in your birth date. We check it against Lunar New Year for that year (computed, 1900 to 2100), show your element, yin or yang, and animal, and tell you if Four Pillars astrology would say something different. Or switch to "A whole year" to see exactly where a year begins and ends.
Your Chinese zodiac year
Yin Wood Snake (Yi Si)
Your year ran from January 29, 2025 to February 16, 2026. Your element is Wood, from the year's heavenly stem, Yi.
Heads up: your birthday comes before Lunar New Year 2026 (Feb 17), so you belong to the 2025 year, not 2026. A chart that only looks at the year number would call you a Yang Fire Horse.
Your element, Wood
Pictured as a young tree pushing up and out. Linked with spring, east and the colour green.
Water feeds Wood; Wood feeds Fire. Wood checks Earth and is checked by Metal.
Four Pillars year (Lichun)
Different answer: Yang Fire Horse. Four Pillars astrology starts the year at Lichun (Feb 4), not Lunar New Year, so your birthday lands on the other side of the line.
Your animal's own element
The Snake carries Fire on its own, every year. Your year adds Wood on top, so you are a Wood Snake with Fire underneath.
Your 60-year return
The Yin Wood Snake comes back on January 26, 2085, around your 60th birthday. The full cycle of 10 stems and 12 animals takes 60 years.
Your yin Wood neighbours within 30 years: 1995 Pig, 2005 Rooster, 2015 Goat, 2035 Rabbit, 2045 Ox, 2055 Pig.
Lunar New Year dates are computed for China (UTC+8 from 1929, Beijing local time before). We compare them with your local birth date, which is the common convention. Elements and animals are tradition and reflection, not a forecast.
More to read
Shorter reads. Each opens in place.
A second element
Your animal has an element of its own
Besides the year's element, each animal carries a fixed one: the Rat and Pig are Water, the Tiger and Rabbit Wood, the Snake and Horse Fire, the Monkey and Rooster Metal, and the Ox, Dragon, Goat and Dog Earth. When the two match, as in 2026 (Fire Horse), the element is doubled.
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The sky behind it
| Year | Sign | Animal's own element |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Yang Metal Rat | Water |
| 2021 | Yin Metal Ox | Earth |
| 2022 | Yang Water Tiger | Wood |
| 2023 | Yin Water Rabbit | Wood |
| 2024 | Yang Wood Dragon | Earth |
| 2025 | Yin Wood Snake | Fire |
| 2026 | Yang Fire Horse | Fire |
| 2027 | Yin Fire Goat | Earth |
| 2028 | Yang Earth Monkey | Metal |
| 2029 | Yin Earth Rooster | Metal |
| 2030 | Yang Metal Dog | Earth |
| 2031 | Yin Metal Pig | Water |
Born outside China?
Which date counts if you were born in New York or London
Lunar New Year is fixed by the calendar date in China. Most people born elsewhere simply compare their local birth date with that date, and our calculator does the same. It only matters if you were born on the day before or the day of Lunar New Year; even then, the published festival date is the one most families use.
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Lunar New Year and Lichun, 1950 to 2035
Every Chinese year from 1950 to 2035 with its first and last day and its Lichun date (China time). The calculator covers 1901 to 2100.
| Year | Element and animal | Starts (Lunar New Year) | Ends | Lichun (China) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Yang Metal Tiger | February 17, 1950 | February 5, 1951 | Feb 4 |
| 1951 | Yin Metal Rabbit | February 6, 1951 | January 26, 1952 | Feb 4 |
| 1952 | Yang Water Dragon | January 27, 1952 | February 13, 1953 | Feb 5 |
| 1953 | Yin Water Snake | February 14, 1953 | February 2, 1954 | Feb 4 |
| 1954 | Yang Wood Horse | February 3, 1954 | January 23, 1955 | Feb 4 |
| 1955 | Yin Wood Goat | January 24, 1955 | February 11, 1956 | Feb 4 |
| 1956 | Yang Fire Monkey | February 12, 1956 | January 30, 1957 | Feb 5 |
| 1957 | Yin Fire Rooster | January 31, 1957 | February 17, 1958 | Feb 4 |
| 1958 | Yang Earth Dog | February 18, 1958 | February 7, 1959 | Feb 4 |
| 1959 | Yin Earth Pig | February 8, 1959 | January 27, 1960 | Feb 4 |
| 1960 | Yang Metal Rat | January 28, 1960 | February 14, 1961 | Feb 5 |
| 1961 | Yin Metal Ox | February 15, 1961 | February 4, 1962 | Feb 4 |
| 1962 | Yang Water Tiger | February 5, 1962 | January 24, 1963 | Feb 4 |
| 1963 | Yin Water Rabbit | January 25, 1963 | February 12, 1964 | Feb 4 |
| 1964 | Yang Wood Dragon | February 13, 1964 | February 1, 1965 | Feb 5 |
| 1965 | Yin Wood Snake | February 2, 1965 | January 20, 1966 | Feb 4 |
| 1966 | Yang Fire Horse | January 21, 1966 | February 8, 1967 | Feb 4 |
| 1967 | Yin Fire Goat | February 9, 1967 | January 29, 1968 | Feb 4 |
| 1968 | Yang Earth Monkey | January 30, 1968 | February 16, 1969 | Feb 5 |
| 1969 | Yin Earth Rooster | February 17, 1969 | February 5, 1970 | Feb 4 |
| 1970 | Yang Metal Dog | February 6, 1970 | January 26, 1971 | Feb 4 |
| 1971 | Yin Metal Pig | January 27, 1971 | February 14, 1972 | Feb 4 |
| 1972 | Yang Water Rat | February 15, 1972 | February 2, 1973 | Feb 5 |
| 1973 | Yin Water Ox | February 3, 1973 | January 22, 1974 | Feb 4 |
| 1974 | Yang Wood Tiger | January 23, 1974 | February 10, 1975 | Feb 4 |
| 1975 | Yin Wood Rabbit | February 11, 1975 | January 30, 1976 | Feb 4 |
| 1976 | Yang Fire Dragon | January 31, 1976 | February 17, 1977 | Feb 5 |
| 1977 | Yin Fire Snake | February 18, 1977 | February 6, 1978 | Feb 4 |
| 1978 | Yang Earth Horse | February 7, 1978 | January 27, 1979 | Feb 4 |
| 1979 | Yin Earth Goat | January 28, 1979 | February 15, 1980 | Feb 4 |
| 1980 | Yang Metal Monkey | February 16, 1980 | February 4, 1981 | Feb 5 |
| 1981 | Yin Metal Rooster | February 5, 1981 | January 24, 1982 | Feb 4 |
| 1982 | Yang Water Dog | January 25, 1982 | February 12, 1983 | Feb 4 |
| 1983 | Yin Water Pig | February 13, 1983 | February 1, 1984 | Feb 4 |
| 1984 | Yang Wood Rat | February 2, 1984 | February 19, 1985 | Feb 4 |
| 1985 | Yin Wood Ox | February 20, 1985 | February 8, 1986 | Feb 4 |
| 1986 | Yang Fire Tiger | February 9, 1986 | January 28, 1987 | Feb 4 |
| 1987 | Yin Fire Rabbit | January 29, 1987 | February 16, 1988 | Feb 4 |
| 1988 | Yang Earth Dragon | February 17, 1988 | February 5, 1989 | Feb 4 |
| 1989 | Yin Earth Snake | February 6, 1989 | January 26, 1990 | Feb 4 |
| 1990 | Yang Metal Horse | January 27, 1990 | February 14, 1991 | Feb 4 |
| 1991 | Yin Metal Goat | February 15, 1991 | February 3, 1992 | Feb 4 |
| 1992 | Yang Water Monkey | February 4, 1992 | January 22, 1993 | Feb 4 |
| 1993 | Yin Water Rooster | January 23, 1993 | February 9, 1994 | Feb 4 |
| 1994 | Yang Wood Dog | February 10, 1994 | January 30, 1995 | Feb 4 |
| 1995 | Yin Wood Pig | January 31, 1995 | February 18, 1996 | Feb 4 |
| 1996 | Yang Fire Rat | February 19, 1996 | February 6, 1997 | Feb 4 |
| 1997 | Yin Fire Ox | February 7, 1997 | January 27, 1998 | Feb 4 |
| 1998 | Yang Earth Tiger | January 28, 1998 | February 15, 1999 | Feb 4 |
| 1999 | Yin Earth Rabbit | February 16, 1999 | February 4, 2000 | Feb 4 |
| 2000 | Yang Metal Dragon | February 5, 2000 | January 23, 2001 | Feb 4 |
| 2001 | Yin Metal Snake | January 24, 2001 | February 11, 2002 | Feb 4 |
| 2002 | Yang Water Horse | February 12, 2002 | January 31, 2003 | Feb 4 |
| 2003 | Yin Water Goat | February 1, 2003 | January 21, 2004 | Feb 4 |
| 2004 | Yang Wood Monkey | January 22, 2004 | February 8, 2005 | Feb 4 |
| 2005 | Yin Wood Rooster | February 9, 2005 | January 28, 2006 | Feb 4 |
| 2006 | Yang Fire Dog | January 29, 2006 | February 17, 2007 | Feb 4 |
| 2007 | Yin Fire Pig | February 18, 2007 | February 6, 2008 | Feb 4 |
| 2008 | Yang Earth Rat | February 7, 2008 | January 25, 2009 | Feb 4 |
| 2009 | Yin Earth Ox | January 26, 2009 | February 13, 2010 | Feb 4 |
| 2010 | Yang Metal Tiger | February 14, 2010 | February 2, 2011 | Feb 4 |
| 2011 | Yin Metal Rabbit | February 3, 2011 | January 22, 2012 | Feb 4 |
| 2012 | Yang Water Dragon | January 23, 2012 | February 9, 2013 | Feb 4 |
| 2013 | Yin Water Snake | February 10, 2013 | January 30, 2014 | Feb 4 |
| 2014 | Yang Wood Horse | January 31, 2014 | February 18, 2015 | Feb 4 |
| 2015 | Yin Wood Goat | February 19, 2015 | February 7, 2016 | Feb 4 |
| 2016 | Yang Fire Monkey | February 8, 2016 | January 27, 2017 | Feb 4 |
| 2017 | Yin Fire Rooster | January 28, 2017 | February 15, 2018 | Feb 3 |
| 2018 | Yang Earth Dog | February 16, 2018 | February 4, 2019 | Feb 4 |
| 2019 | Yin Earth Pig | February 5, 2019 | January 24, 2020 | Feb 4 |
| 2020 | Yang Metal Rat | January 25, 2020 | February 11, 2021 | Feb 4 |
| 2021 | Yin Metal Ox | February 12, 2021 | January 31, 2022 | Feb 3 |
| 2022 | Yang Water Tiger | February 1, 2022 | January 21, 2023 | Feb 4 |
| 2023 | Yin Water Rabbit | January 22, 2023 | February 9, 2024 | Feb 4 |
| 2024 | Yang Wood Dragon | February 10, 2024 | January 28, 2025 | Feb 4 |
| 2025 | Yin Wood Snake | January 29, 2025 | February 16, 2026 | Feb 3 |
| 2026 | Yang Fire Horse | February 17, 2026 | February 5, 2027 | Feb 4 |
| 2027 | Yin Fire Goat | February 6, 2027 | January 25, 2028 | Feb 4 |
| 2028 | Yang Earth Monkey | January 26, 2028 | February 12, 2029 | Feb 4 |
| 2029 | Yin Earth Rooster | February 13, 2029 | February 2, 2030 | Feb 3 |
| 2030 | Yang Metal Dog | February 3, 2030 | January 22, 2031 | Feb 4 |
| 2031 | Yin Metal Pig | January 23, 2031 | February 10, 2032 | Feb 4 |
| 2032 | Yang Water Rat | February 11, 2032 | January 30, 2033 | Feb 4 |
| 2033 | Yin Water Ox | January 31, 2033 | February 18, 2034 | Feb 3 |
| 2034 | Yang Wood Tiger | February 19, 2034 | February 7, 2035 | Feb 4 |
| 2035 | Yin Wood Rabbit | February 8, 2035 | January 27, 2036 | Feb 4 |
All times are UTC. In the Americas the local date can be a day earlier; in Asia and Australia a day later.
Quick answers
What is my Chinese zodiac element?
It comes from the heavenly stem of your Chinese year, which follows the last digit of that year: 0 or 1: Metal; 2 or 3: Water; 4 or 5: Wood; 6 or 7: Fire; 8 or 9: Earth. The catch is that the Chinese year starts at Lunar New Year, between January 21 and February 20, so if you were born in January or early February, check the date first. The calculator above does that for you.
What Chinese zodiac element is 2026?
Fire. 2026 is the Yang Fire Horse year (Bing Wu), running from Tuesday, February 17, 2026, to February 5, 2027. Anyone born from January 1 to February 16, 2026, is a Yin Wood Snake.
What is the Chinese zodiac for 2027?
The Yin Fire Goat (Ding Wei), from Saturday, February 6, 2027, to January 25, 2028. Births from January 1 to February 5, 2027, still belong to the Fire Horse.
I was born in January. What is my Chinese zodiac sign?
Almost always the sign of the year before. Lunar New Year never fell earlier than January 21 in 1900 to 2100, so January 1 to 20 always belongs to the previous Chinese year. Late January depends on the year: Lunar New Year landed in January in 71 of those 201 years.
What element am I if I was born in January 2000?
Earth. Lunar New Year 2000 fell on February 5, 2000, so anyone born January 1 to February 4, 2000, is a Yin Earth Rabbit, not a Metal Dragon. From February 5 on, it is the Yang Metal Dragon.
Why do websites give me different Chinese zodiac signs?
Three reasons. Some only look at the year number and ignore Lunar New Year. Some use Lichun, the solar start of spring (February 3 or February 4 or February 5 in China), which is the year boundary in Four Pillars (BaZi) astrology. And a few use a rough rule that fails in some years: the "second new moon after the winter solstice" shortcut gives the wrong date in 2034.
Does my element change every year?
Each element covers two years in a row, yang then yin, so one element repeats every 10 years. 2026 and 2027 are both Fire; 2028 and 2029 are both Earth. The same element and animal together come back every 60 years.
Is a Fire Horse year rare?
It comes once every 60 years. The last began on January 21, 1966 and the next after 2026 begins on February 14, 2086. Every element and animal pairing is exactly that rare.
